Platforms

Pentax Announce K100 And K110D dSLR Cameras
Things are heating up in the entry-level/enthusiast end of the photography market, with Pentax announcing two new new dSLR cameras offering 6.1 effective megapixels.
The Pentax K100 and K110D cameras both offer high precision 11-point wide frame AF, ISO sensitivity from 200 to 3200 ISO, a large 2.5-inch LCD screen and a shutter speed extending from 30 secs to a superfast 1/4000 sec
The cameras are compatible with most of the huge selection of existing Pentax lenses, including PENTAX K-, KA-, KAF- and KAF2-mount lenses; screw-mount lenses (with an adapter); and 645- are 67-system lenses (with an adapter) – although there may be limited functionality with some older lenses.
K100D : non shake, non rattle and non roll
Entering a market already dominated by excellent low-price models by Nikon and Canon, Pentax are hoping that the anti-shake widget in the K100D – which effectively offers a two-stop advantage – will get punters waving their wads in their direction
It’s Pentax’s first DSLR to feature a CCD-shift Shake Reduction system – and works by oscillating the CCD image sensor vertically and horizontally at high speed using magnetic force, while adjusting the speed of oscillation in proportion to the amount of camera shake detected by a built-in sensor (err, got that?).
K110D – cheap’n’cheerful
The entry-level digital K110D is exactly the same as the K100D but comes without the Shake Reduction.
Both cameras come with Pentax’s smarty-pants Auto Picture Mode for point’n’shooters. This automatically selects one of the five Picture modes – including Portrait, Landscape and Macro – by calculating various photographic factors to assure top notch results.
There’s also the usual selection of scene modes including Night Scene, Surf & Snow, Text, Sunset, Kids and Museum
The Pentax K100D (with smc 18-55mm lens) will be shunting off the shelves for around $700, while the K110D will ship with the same lens for a competitive $600.
Pentax K100D/ K110D specifications
Sensor 6.1 million effective pixels
Image sizes 3008 x 2000, 3008 x 2008 (RAW), 2400 x 1600, 1536 x 1024,
File formats JPEG (8-bit), RAW (12-bit), DCF, DPOF, PRINT Image Matching lll
Lens Mount Pentax KAF bayonet mount
Focus TTL Phase-matching 11-point wide autofocus system (SAFOX Vlll), AF Single, Manual, AF Continuous
Image Stabilization Shake Reduction (SR) system (K100 only)
AF assist lamp Yes (by built-in flash)
Metering TTL open-aperture 16-segment (coupled with lens and AF information), Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot
ISO sensitivity Auto, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200
Exposure compensation +/- 2EV, 1/2EV or 1/3 EV steps
Exposure bracketing 3 frames within range of +/-0.5EV, +/-1.0EV, +/-1.5EV (0.5EV steps) or +/-0.3EV, +/-0.7EV, +/-1.0EV (0.3EV steps)
Shutter Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plane shutter
Shuttter speed 1/4000 – 30 sec
Modes Auto Picture mode, Picture mode, Scene, Program AE, Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority AE, Metered Manual, Bulb
Picture modes Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Action, Night Scene Portrait, Standard Flash Off
White balance Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, Fluorescent Light (W, D, N), Flash, Manual
Continuous shooting Approx 2.8 fps: JPEG(up to 5fps), RAW(up to 3fps)
Flash Built-in retractable P-TTL pop-up, Guide number 15.6
Viewfinder Fixed molded penta-mirror type, 96% field of view
LCD monitor 2.5-inch low temperature polysilicon TFT, 210,000 pixels
Connectivity USB 2.0 Hi-speed
Storage SD card
Power 4 x AA batteries(Alkaline, Lithium, rechargeable Ni-MH), 2 x CR-V3 llithium batteries, Optional AC adapter
Weight (no batt) 560 g (19.8 oz) 485 g
Dimensions 129.5 x 92.5 x 70 mm (5.1 x 3.6 x 2.8 in)
Pentax
23 May, 2006
Japan Gets Sony Ericsson W42S 3G Walkman Phone
Sony Ericsson has announced its first Walkman phone for Japan today and it looks like a beaut.
Due to be launched by Japanese wireless carrier KDDI in June, the W42S 3G packs a hefty 1GB of internal memory backed up by a Memory Stick Pro DUO expansion slot offering up to 4GB of storage.
The new Walkman phone comes with a power saving mode to keep the tunes pumping for up to 30 hours of playback, with the onboard player supporting MP3, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+ music format files.
As a result of a partnership with KDDI, owners can gorge themselves on a feast of top tunes when they’re on the move, thanks to their LISMO music service which currently boasts a mighty 5 million downloads per month.
True to its Walkman heritage, the slide-out phone has a smorgasbord of built-in dedicated music controls, including a natty new mechanical navigation wotsit bolted on to the bottom of the phone.
Although it look a bit odd stuck on the phone, anyone who’s used the similar controls on Sony’s minidisk and MP3 players will now how easy they are to use.
The phone also comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, a 2.2-inch, 240 x 320 pixels, 262k colour LCD screen, an FM radio and an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) to keep punters well-fed with programming schedules.
There’s been no firm announcement of the retail price yet, although it’s hotly rumoured to be around the $180 mark, and no announcement of a UK release yet, natch.
Sony Ericsson W42S [Japanese]
23 May, 2006
Tesco Stocks Up On MP3 Players
Sitting right next to the baked beans and cornflakes at a Tescos near you soon should be Tesco’s new range of cheapo MP3 players.
Built and branded by bulk electronics firm Technika, the seven new players are aimed at the cheapskate end of the market, with prices starting at a mere £18.
Although the design is unlikely to get iPod whizzkid Jonathan Ive waking up in a lather of midnight sweat, the players seem attractive enough, offering a simple, solid construction.
The range starts with the 18 quid MP-806 player – which only manages just 128MB of flash memory – with the top end MP-806 player cranking the memory all the way up to, err, 1GB for £50.
The interface is bog standard but straightforward – there’s not much to get confused about here – and the player connects to desktops via a USB interface.
What little specs we could find say the players support MP3s and WMA files bought from download shops, although we couldn’t find any of the models listed on Microsoft’s ‘play for sure’ Website.
Tesco are no stranger to this MP3 thing, launching an online music store back in November 2004, offering 500,000 tracks which can be downloaded for 79p, with albums costing £7.99.
The company also offers a sizeable range of MP3 players, including Toshiba, Sony, Archos and Philips, with models available by mail order or from their 200 Tesco ‘Extra’ stores.
22 May, 2006
Review: Metro Public Transport Guide For PDA and Smartphones (95%)
For globe trotters, city slickers, urban commuters and spoddy transport types, the freeware Metro looks to be a very useful application.
Available on a host of mobile platforms from PalmOS to Symbian to Pocket PC, Métro is a predominantly text-based program that computes the shortest route between two subway stations.
The program’s looks may be basic, but you can’t knock its coverage, with guides for over 300 cities around the world – including Dublin, Las Vegas, London, Tokyo and even ‘umble Croydon.
Impressively, the program is available in 39 languages.
The guides come with differing levels of detail, with some offering both bus and subway routes, places of interest and a ‘tourist version’ offering extra info and directions to local sights.
Using Metro
Using the program is simplicity itself: just select the city and time you want to travel, select the ‘start’ and ‘end’ points of your journey.
This can be done by either inputting the names yourself (Metro will offer to auto-complete as you type) or by selecting the stations from a list.
Then it’s a case of bashing the ‘start’ button to get Metro to automatically suggest two different routes (fastest and least connections), with the option to instantly compare alternative routes by clicking on other stations and lines.
Possibly of particular use in France, there’s also a ‘Line deactivation’ option letting you navigate routes around sections of the subway that might be closed for strikes (or maintenance).
Using the program’s simple interface, you can also get Metro to display station details, stops between the stations on your journey and even associate contacts with stations.
The program is certainly comprehensive, offering 721 stops in London, 939 in New-York, 1813 in Tokyo and 838 in Paris, and a handy MétrUp updater makes it easy to keep city files up to date on your handheld.
i-Metro
Describing itself as ‘the ultimate public transport guide on your WAP or iMode phone’, i-Metro comes in Web, iMode and WAP versions for accessing route information on the move.
We couldn’t get any joy out of the WAP version (but we were using our wobbly old Ericsson T610), but the Web version worked just fine and we were able to quickly access London night bus info. Neat!
Conclusion
It may not be the most attractive travel program around, but for a freeware product the attention to detail and scope of coverage is simply astonishing.
Such is the reliability of the program that mobile moguls like Sony Ericsson, Palm and T-Mobile are bundling Metro in with their products, and even SNCF (the French national railway company) have given it their seal of approval.
For commuters, tourists and travellers we thoroughly recommend Metro.
Features: 85%
Ease of use: 85%
Value For Money: 95% (it’s free Godammit!)
Overall: 95%
Metro i-Metro Available cities
19 May, 2006
Sony HDR-HC3: Hands On With HC1 Successor
The HC3 has a tough act to follow – its own big brother, the HC1. Last year’s HC1 brought High Definition recording within the budget of almost any home movie-maker for the first time, and did it with assurance and style. Luckily, Sony hasn’t rested on its laurels, and the HC3 feels very much like a replacement for the HC1 rather than a mere upgrade.
For a start, the HC3 is 30% smaller and lighter than its predecessor, giving it the size and heft of a traditional MiniDV palmcorder. It shares the 2.7-inch touchscreen of the SR90, as well as a generous 123,000-pixel wide viewfinder if you need to save power. Like the HC1, it records 1080i High Def footage onto MiniDV tapes in the HDV format, although the HC3 has a brand new 1/3-inch 2MP CMOS sensor that Sony suggests will match the 3MP chip in the HC1. We didn’t have the opportunity to see full quality footage from the HC3 on a HD display.
Changes to the imaging pipeline have enabled Sony to offer a couple of new features in the HC3. The first is the ability to capture up to three 2MP still photos while filming (the images buffer until you stop recording). The second is Smooth Slow capture, where the capture rate increases from 50 to 200 fields per second for three seconds. Audio recording and the Super SteadyShot audio are disabled while you shoot. You can then play back this footage at a normal frame rate, giving 12 seconds of smooth slow motion footage.
The HC3 has an HDMI output (no cable supplied) and should manage around 105 minutes of recording using the supplied battery. Like the SR90, the HC3 has a flash unit rather than a video light, but a hot-shoe for accessories. But some of the HC1’s more advanced features are missing: manual shutter speeds, zoom ring and external microphone input among them.
The HC3 seems to be a worthy successor to the HC1: smaller, lighter and cheaper (£1,000). Our only concerns would be that the reduction in size of the CMOS sensor has affected image quality and that Sony is dumbing down its High Def offering for a mass audience. Despite these worries, the HC3 will almost certainly spearhead the assault of HD into the mainstream and that can be no bad thing.
19 May, 2006
Sony DCR-SR90: Hands On With Their First HDD Camcorder
Just when you thought Sony couldn’t add any more formats to its camcorder range (the electronics giant already carries MiniDV, MicroMV, Hi8, Digital 8 and DVD models), along comes a new hard disc camcorder (the DCR-SR90) and a re-vamped Hi Def pro-sumer shooter (HDR-HC3). We caught up with both at an exclusive hands- on presentation in London. Details of the Sony HDR-HC3 will follow tomorrow.
Sony DCR-SR90
The SR90 is going head-to-head with JVC’s well-established Everio range of hard disc camcorders, with which it shares many things in common. A 30Gb disc can store around seven hours of top quality MPEG-2 footage, although not, as yet, in High Defintion. The Sony’s 9Mbps maximum bit-rate just pips JVC’s 8.5Mbps, although we wouldn’t expect that to affect video quality noticeably. Both have hard drive drop protection and traditional palmcorder designs, although the SR90 is heavier and chunkier than JVC’s Everios – and even many of Sony’s MiniDV models.
Build quality is good, and is reflected in a specification that includes a Carl Zeiss T* 10x zoom, which zips between extremes silently and quickly, and a 3.3 megapixel CCD sensor (against the Everio’s 2MP chip). Although it’s a pity Sony opted for a photo flash rather than a video LED, there is at least a hot-shoe for adding a decent external light.
The interface is generally very good, with a 2.7-inch folding touchscreen ported straight from Sony’s MiniDV range, giving access to a good range of creative features, including true 16:9 recording.
Sony has also borrowed from its DVD camcorders, nicking a built-in microphone that encodes audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound (although we didn’t get a chance to test this properly). Super SteadyShot is one of the industry’s better digital image stabilisers, and there are some digital effects on offer, too.
Playback features include basic editing tools that let you move scenes around but not cut or join them. Ease of use is emphasized with a One Touch DVD burn button for Windows computers with a DVD writer – just plug in via USB, slip in a disc and away you go.
Utilising the strengths of its traditional camcorders has helped Sony avoid the SR90 feeling like a ‘me too’ product. It might be priced a little higher (£850) than similar Everios but it offers a little more, too – if not yet the High Def recording that would have made it a must-have. A solid hard drive debut then, and it’s great to finally have some competition for JVC.
18 May, 2006
Scope Watch – Possibly the Daftest Yet
Without doubt quite the silliest timepiece we’ve seen for a long time, this new watch by Japanese manufacturers Scompe manages to turn the mundane task of checking the time into some sort of sci-fi adventure.
Offering no hands, dials or any kind of alpha-numeric LCD/LED readout, the makers clearly thought that such tried and trusted (and efficient) methods of displaying the time were simply too uncool for cutting edge hipsters.
Instead, the Scope watch employs a bonkers ‘scanning’ system, activated by pressing a button on the fascia which animates two onscreen green lines – one vertical, the other horizontal.
Managing to complicate the simple task of reading the time, users must read off the vertical line for the hour and the horizontal line for the minutes, checking their values against the tiny onscreen numbers.
Minutes inbetween are displayed in a circular display to the right, which is made up of four LEDs (so 20mins + 2 LEDs = 22 minutes.)
Powered by 2 lithium cells, the SCOPE watch is quite a chunky beast, measuring 45mm x 33mm x 11mm.
The watch – available in Brushed Silver or Gun Metal – comes with a one year warranty and a stainless steel strap and sells for around 14900 Yen ($130, £75).
Tokyo Flash
18 May, 2006
Fisher-Price Launch Digital Toys For Three Year Olds
Back in our day, we were lucky if we got a lump of mud as a toy (Luxury! – editor), but kids today are spoilt rotten with an endless succession of frivolous gadgets demanding an unwelcome draining of parents’ wallets.
Latest in a long line of toys for the tiny tot that must have everything is the new ‘Kid Tough’ range from Fisher-Price.
Aimed at preschoolers as young as three years old, the brightly coloured digital camera and digital music player look set to distract kids from boring tasks like, you know, playing with other children, reading books and talking to their parents.
Camera
The durable camera looks like it might survive several tantrums and buggy-lobbing fits, and offers a two-eye viewfinder, sturdy hand grips and a small colour LCD preview screen.
Fisher Price’s website doesn’t offer any details about camera resolution, but we figure it’s going to be pretty crappy.
There’s no memory card slots for kids to dribble into, with the camera offering built in storage for 60 pictures, backed up USB connectivity for transferring photos to a desktop PC.
Music player
Styled in a similarly chunky design, the Kid-Tough FP3 player comes pre-loaded with six songs (which will no doubt be repeated for infinity) as well as a less-than-generous two stories in what appears to be Fisher-Price’s proprietary FP3 format.
The circular player features big buttons and an LCD screen with icons to let kids pick their own choons and be a junior DJ Selectaaaaaa!
Naturally, there’s an option to buy some silence from your kid by buying and downloading songs and stories from the Fisher-Price Song and Story Online Store.
The FP3 player can store over 30 songs and 15 stories with the option to add a memory card and rip banging techno tunes for your kids from your own CDs.
With safety in mind, the child-sized headphones are restricted to kid-friendly volume levels and the neck strap is designed to snap if the local bully tries to swing your child around by his/her FP3 player.
The camera and FP3 player are predictably available in pink or blue, and are described as ‘coming soon’ on Fisher-Price’s website. No details of pricing have emerged yet.
Fisher-Price
18 May, 2006
Sony Launch AR-Series Blu-ray Laptops And VGN-UX50 Ultra Mobile PC
Sony has whipped out its first laptop equipped with a next-generation Blu-ray optical disk drive, saying that it will be available in Japan next month.
The electronics and entertainment giant also said that it would be unveiling a handheld PC that uses NAND flash memory instead of a hard disk drive during the same month.
VAIO AR-Series
The Blu-ray equipped Vaio notebook is expected to retail for about 400,000 yen ($3,600) – matching the price tag for Toshiba’s new notebooks equipped with the rival HD DVD drive.
Flagship of the new VAIO AR-Series is the AR11S laptop which will feature a hefty 17-inch WideUltraXGA2 screen with a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 for watching full HD resolution video.
The AR-Series will also come with a HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) output for hooking up the lappie to a HD-ready TV or Full HD desktop display.
Lurking inside the shiny beast is an Intel Core Duo processor (up to and including the 2GHz T2500) and a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics card with 256MB of dedicated video memory.
There’s also a built in digital camera and microphone onboard, a hybrid Digital TV-Ready (DVB-T) Tuner and a veritable ton of storage space available, up to 200GB.
Full pricing details for the UK are yet to be announced, but the words ‘Sony’ and ‘Blu-ray’ invariably mean, “wallet draining,” with the AR Premium Blu-ray enabled model looking set to be banged out around the $3,500 mark, while the AR Standard model be around $1,800,
Sony’s VGN-UX50 takes on Origami
Sony has also announced a palm-top computer set to compete with Microsoft’s much trumpeted Origami project.
Smaller than a paperback book, Sony’s new handheld computer runs on Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system and comes with a touch screen and small built-in keyboard.
Powered by Intel Core Solo U1400 (1.2 Ghz)/U1300 (1.06 Ghz) the pint-sized PC will sport an Intel 945GMS Express chipset, 512MB RAM, 20/30 GB hard drive and 69 key QWERTY keyboard.
Sony’s engineers have managed to wedge in a slide-out 4.5 inch WSVGA (1024×600) touchscreen display which can be used in portrait and landscape modes.
Other features include a 1.3 Megapixel Motion eye camera, Wi-Fi a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, Fingerprint sensor, Memory stick / Compact Flash card slot and a dock offering 3 x USB ports, 1 x Firewire port, Ethernet jack, 1 x VGA out and Felica reader (wireless payment service in Japan).
Sony will also be releasing a NAND Flash memory version of the Ultra Mobile PC, providing ‘instant on’ capability.
Sony plans to start selling the handheld PC in Japan from the end of May (for around 170,000 yen ~£820), with US deliveries following some time after.
Sony
17 May, 2006
Nokia 770 Adds VoIP and IM
Nordic mobile goliaths Nokia have unveiled an upgrade for their Nokia 770 Internet Tablet which gives the chunky device VoIP and instant messaging capabilities through Google Talk.
The announcement, made at the VON Europe conference in Stockholm, marks Nokia’s first foray into Voice over Internet Protocol, with Ari Virtanen, vice president of Nokia’s Convergence Products commenting, “VoIP has really been the No.1 request for us.”
Despite the enthusiasm from Ari at the launch for the upgraded Nokia 770, he insisted that the technology wasn’t expected to cut into the market of traditional mobile telephones.
“I would not say this kind of technology competes with traditional mobile telephony. There will always be stand-alone devices where telephony is the main function,” he said.
Originally unveiled in May 2005, the Linux-powered Nokia 770 was the company’s first non-phone mobile device, designed for users to access the Internet around the home over a wireless broadband connection.
Sales weren’t too hot though, but Nokia reckon that by bolting on VoIP phone capabilities they can turbo charge unit-shifting, with Virtanen insisting that internet telephony is “the key for us to reach higher sales volumes.”
Customers who already have bought the 770 can upgrade their device to use the new Google Talk features for free over the Internet.
Updated OS
The newly introduced OS 2006 edition with Google Talk pre-installed gives users access to Google’s free instant messaging service so they can chat and make calls through the Internet on the 770.
The updated OS also boasts enhanced text typing with full-screen finger keyboard, improved memory performance and a ‘refreshed’ look (did they throw a bucket of water at it, or something?).
The upgraded device is expected to knock out for about €370 (US$470), Nokia said.
Nokia 770
16 May, 2006